Emergency & Disaster Resources

If you or a loved one have been affected—or may be affected—by a hurricane, we can help. Review our comprehensive information and resources on emergency and disaster planning. We can also connect you to emergency shelters and other critical needs now, or other resources after the initial emergency has passed, such as temporary living assistance, medical equipment, medications, emotional support, or other challenges to your quality of life. Please call 1-800-344-4867 to connect with an MS Navigator, or via e-mail at generalmailbox@nmss.org.

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Timely and accurate diagnosis

There are many possible causes of neurological symptoms. When MS is considered as a potential diagnosis, other causes must be excluded — through the tools and tests outlined below — before an MS diagnosis is considered definitive. While this process of exclusion may be very rapid for some individuals, it can take a much longer time — with repeat testing — for others. Making the diagnosis of MS as quickly and accurately as possible is important for several reasons:

People who are living with frightening and uncomfortable symptoms want and need to know the reason for their discomfort. Getting the diagnosis allows them to begin the adjustment process and relieves them of worries about other diseases such as cancer.

Since we now know that permanent neurologic damage can occur even in the earliest stages of MS, it is important to confirm the diagnosis so that the appropriate treatment(s) can be initiated as early in the disease process as possible.

Criteria for a diagnosis of MS

At this time, there are no symptoms, physical findings or laboratory tests that can — by themselves — determine if a person has MS. The doctor uses several strategies to determine if a person meets the MS diagnostic criteria. In order to make a diagnosis of MS, the physician must:

Find evidence of damage in at least two separate areas of the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves AND

Find evidence that the damage occurred at two different points in time AND

Rule out all other possible diagnoses.

In 2001, the International Panel on the Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis updated the criteria to include specific guidelines for using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, and visual evoked potentials (EP) to speed the diagnostic process. These tests can be used to look for a second area of damage in a person who has experienced only one relapse (also called an attack or exacerbation) of MS-like symptoms — referred to as a clinically-isolated syndrome (CIS). A person with CIS may or may not go on to develop MS. The criteria (now referred to as The Revised McDonald Criteria) were further revised in 2005 and again in 2010 to make the process even easier and more efficient.

Tools for making a diagnosis

Medical history and neurologic exam

The physician:

Takes a careful history to identify any past or present symptoms that might be caused by MS.

Gathers information about birthplace, family history, environmental exposures, history of other illnesses and places traveled that might provide further clues.

Performs a variety of tests to evaluate mental, emotional and language functions, strength, coordination, balance, reflexes, gait, vision, and the other four senses.

In many instances, medical history and neurologic exam provide enough evidence to meet the diagnostic criteria. Other tests are used to confirm the diagnosis or to identify other possible causes of the symptoms or neurological exam findings.

Blood tests

While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogrens, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Diagnostic tool that currently offers the most sensitive non-invasive way of imaging the brain, spinal cord or other areas of the body.

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

A clear, colorless liquid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. Certain changes in the CSF indicate an abnormal immune response within the central nervous system, which can help diagnose MS and other diseases

Optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a relatively new, non-invasive and painless imaging tool for viewing retinal structures at the back of the eye. Although the optic nerve is often a target of MS disease activity — leading to episodes of optic neuritis — it cannot be easily seen. Doctors can use OCT to see the condition of the retinal nerve (which carries visual information before it leaves the back of the eye) after an episode of optic neuritis. Because the retinal nerve has no myelin covering, OCT images provide important information about the health of the nerve itself.

OCT studies have shown that the retinal nerve fiber layer is different in people with MS than in people without MS, even when there is no history of optic neuritis — making OCT a useful tool for learning more about the pathology of optic neuritis and of MS, and for gathering additional evidence of disease activity when the diagnosis of MS is suspected.